GE Scientists Successfully Test World-Class Traction Motor For Hybrid and Electric Vehicles

Press release from General Electric.  Not truly a story about renewable energy, but still of possible interest.

26 July 2012

GE Scientists Successfully Test World-Class Traction Motor For Hybrid and Electric Vehicles

 

GE prototype delivers higher power density, acceleration, and energy efficiency in a smaller frame at a lower cost

Motor extends the range of electric vehicles and reduces fuel consumption on hybrids

Motor has almost twice the temperature tolerance of conventional hybrid-electric motors and does not require a separate cooling system

NISKAYUNA, NY, July 26, 2012 – Engineers at GE Global Research are advancing motor technology that could have a substantial impact on hybrid and electric vehicles (EVs) of the future.

GE recently tested a prototype Interior Permanent Magnet traction motor, developed as part of a $5.6MM U.S. Dept. of Energy (DoE) project, that could help extend the range EVs and hybrids can travel before recharging or needing gasoline. Traction motors are the key part of the propulsion system that converts electrical energy into motion to drive hybrid and electric vehicles. Not only is the GE-designed motor less costly to make, lab testing revealed that it is more powerful and more efficient than what is on the market today. Combined, the additional power output and efficiency will help extend the range of EVs and delay the point at which hybrids switch to gasoline.

GE’s prototype traction motor operates at a peak power level of 55kW and exceeds state-of-the-art motors in the same class in several key areas:

· Nearly twice the power density (acceleration)

· 3-5% more efficient

· Required torque achieved using much lower DC bus voltage – as low as 200 volts versus 650 volts

· Operates continuously at a higher temperature; no need for dedicated cooling loop

Widespread adoption of hybrid and EVs will benefit from advancements, like this, in motor technology.

“This is a significant accomplishment. We at GE are pushing the boundaries to build more robust, yet more efficient motors for hybrid and fully electric platforms”, said Ayman El-Refaie, Electrical Engineer, in GE Global Research’s Electrical Machines Lab. “We have built a motor that is substantially more powerful than what’s commercially available now, all while improving efficiency by up to 5%.”

Unlike conventional traction motors, which run at 65ºC and require their own dedicated cooling loop, GE’s motor operates continuously at 105ºC over a wide speed range (2,800 - 14,000 rpm at 30 kW) and can be cooled with engine coolant. Without the need for additional cooling lines, a hybrid will be lighter and cost less.

GE has built several prototypes of this new motor. It’s been fully tested in the lab and demonstrated for DoE, but further testing must be done for reliability before commercial production is considered.

“This technology is scalable and flexible enough that it can be leveraged in a number of capacities”, said El-Refaie. “What we learned through this project will help us build higher efficiency industrial motors, high-speed oil and gas compressor motors, and generators for aerospace applications.”

Another important accomplishment of this project was the development of high-resistivity (3X) permanent magnets. This high resistivity will significantly lessen magnet losses and reduce or eliminate the need to segment the magnets. This will help keep costs down even more.

A four-year project will follow-up on this work, as GE engineers set out to build a comparably performing motor with no rare-Earth magnets.

About GE Global Research

GE Global Research is the hub of technology development for all of GE's businesses. Our scientists and engineers redefine what’s possible, drive growth for our businesses, and find answers to some of the world’s toughest problems.

We innovate 24 hours a day, with sites in Niskayuna, New York; San Ramon, California; Bangalore, India; Shanghai, China; Munich, Germany; and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Visit GE Global Research on the web at www.ge.com/research. Connect with our technologists at http://edisonsdesk.com andhttp://twitter.com/edisonsdesk.

EV Technology Accelerates in Colorado

From U.S. Dept. of Energy blog:

EV Technology Accelerates in Colorado

January 13, 2012 

  

Arun Majumdar speaks at Idaho National Lab (INL) during a visit to the site earlier this week. | Photo courtesy of INL.

April Saylor

New Media Specialist, Office of Public Affairs

What does this mean for me?

• One of 48 advanced battery and electric drive projects across the country funded by Recovery Act.
• U.S. will have increased capacity to produce electric-drive vehicles batteries from virtually zero in 2008 up to 500,000 per year in 2015.

While the North American International Auto Show began this week in Detroit, ARPA-E Director Arun Majumadar is visiting another town on the cutting edge of vehicle R&D – Longmont, Colorado, home of UQM Technologies.

Beginning with their first all-composite, battery-electric passenger vehicle in the 1970s, the company has been in the electrification business for 35 years, and is no stranger to the benefits of government-industry partnerships.

Over the years, both the Energy Department and the federal government at large have successfully collaborated with UQM – which has received Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) awards from the Defense Department as far back as 1983 and received SBIR funding from Energy for eight different projects in electric motors and machines. In 2006, UQM received funding from EERE’s Vehicle Technologies Program via the FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership to design an advanced permanent magnet motor for use in electric drive vehicles.

In 2009, following the success of the FreedomCAR project, UQM was awarded $45 million in Recovery Act funding to support the development of two types of Electric Vehicle (EV) systems: a propulsion/generator system for battery electric, hybrid, and plug-in hybrid passenger vehicles, and power assist motor/generators for parallel hybrid trucks and buses. As a result of this funding, UQM was able to build the Longmont, CO facility that Dr. Majumdar is visiting today. This site alone has the capacity to produce systems for 120,000 electric drive vehicles a year.

In keeping with emerging EV technologies, last year the Vehicles Technology Program also awarded $3 million to UQM to develop a non-rare-earth permanent magnet motor architecture, which will enable the use of low energy magnet technology. Engineering teams at several national labs will work with UQM’s engineers to develop the technology, which will support more affordable and efficient EV technologies and eliminate the need to utilize rare earth metals in these advanced engines.

It’s partnerships like this that are powering the commercialization of emerging EV technology. In fact, UQM’s recent agreement with Electric Vehicles International (EVI) and UPS to produce systems for 100 all-electric delivery vans is not only a great business success, but will be the largest deployment of a zero-tailpipe delivery fleet in California. As a National Clean Fleets Partner, UPS is a leader in reducing oil use in their fleet, and estimates that the use of these vehicles will displace 126,000 gallons of fuel a year that would have been burned running diesel trucks.

Partnerships like these across the private and public sectors are the kind of investments that are helping America win the clean energy race. Including UQM, the Recovery Act provided $2.4 billion in funding to 48 advanced battery and electric drive projects across the country, funding 30 new manufacturing plants like the one Dr. Majumdar is visiting today. Because of these investments, the U.S. will have increased our capacity to produce electric-drive vehicles batteries from virtually zero in 2008 up to 500,000 per year in 2015.